Press Release

Millennials Continue to Struggle to Get on Their Own Two Feet

(Washington D.C.) – A recent study by the Pew Research Center reported that the number of young adults heading their own households is no higher in 2015 than it was before the recession began in 2007. For Hispanics especially, it seems that tight mortgage credit, housing affordability and down-payments are the main reasons that fewer are able to purchase their own homes. As the study suggests, labor or education factors do not drive living arrangements for young adults, but rather wage and debt.

Jorge Lima, Vice President of Operations and Policy for The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement:

"A sluggish recovery of our economy has made millennials wary of big investments, like moving out on their own, because they are constantly facing economic instability in their jobs and wages – despite being the mosteducated. It's frustrating for them to graduate college with massive student debt only to find that most of their earnings will go to paying off their degrees. Instead of looking for solutions to reduce the cost of college tuition, the best idea some politicians have come up with is to raise taxes - which are already at an all-time high - to subsidize part of the cost. We know that has not worked.

This is a generation that saw their parents start with a good job and start working towards their American Dream and now they struggle to follow their path. Lawmakers need to take a new approach, one that drives down tuition costs, promotes private sector growth that allows for expansion and wage growth so young people find jobs that permit them to climb the economic ladder. It's time for Washington to stop holding back a whole generation."